The Death Protocol HQ felt heavier than usual.
Riven stood in the hallway outside the war room, his fists clenched at his sides. Lucy leaned against the wall beside him.
The rest of the team filed in behind them, James and Kelvin. noticeably fewer than before. The absence of Moses hung over them like a shadow.
Inside, Cigar stood at the head of the roundtable, a holo-map flickering behind him, static crawling at the edges. His scarred face was stern, and his eyes — colder than ever.
"You're all here," he said. "Good. You probably already received the Execution Code update."
Each of their systems had already pinged them:
[EXECUTION ORDER: CODE BLACK] TARGET: ROGUE EXECUTIONER – DESIGNATION: PHANTOM THREAT LEVEL: EXTREME RESTRICTION AUTHORIZED: KILL
Riven's eyes narrowed.
Cigar exhaled a cloud of smoke from his cigar, the scent biting. "Phantom used to be one of us. Until he decided the Code didn't apply to him anymore. Now he's out there, using the system to murder, steal, and disappear. Civilians, officials — doesn't matter. He's a ghost with a body count."
Lucy asked, "Why us? Shouldn't this go to a higher Division?"
Cigar shook his head. "I asked the same. Got stonewalled. You're the only ones available. I won't lie — this mission is suicide. Even an A-rank would struggle against Phantom."
Kelvin shifted uncomfortably. James said nothing.
Cigar took another puff. "But it's your mission.
"Godspeed."
The location was an abandoned processing plant on the outskirts of Brooklyn, dark and overgrown. They moved in formation, quiet as ghosts.
They entered the main hall — and the world erupted.
Binary explosions tore through the walls as Phantom revealed himself, masked, clad in a dark coat that shimmered like corrupted data. His digital weapons spun in both hands twin scythes formed from glitching binary code.
The Execution Code system lit up in Riven's vision:
[WARNING: THREAT LEVEL – A RANK]
"Split up!" Lucy shouted.
James and Kelvin moved to flank, but Phantom was already on them. A swipe of his scythe sliced through the air — and James was fell straight to the ground.
"James—!"
Kelvin shouted, unleashing a burst of disruption code — but Phantom moved like light itself, dodging effortlessly before impaling him through the chest.
"K-Kelvin…!"
"Two down," Phantom said calmly. "Let's make this interesting."
Lucy lunged, her blade clashing with his scythe. Sparks and code flew. Riven joined her, but Phantom parried him mid-dash, kicking him through a wall.
Lucy screamed as her arm was slashed — bone cracked. She dropped her blade.
"No!" Riven roared.
Blood ran down Lucy's fingers as she fell to her knees. "Riven... run..."
But he didn't run.
Something inside him snapped. Pain, rage, grief — all blended into a singular clarity.
The system responded:
[NEW SKILL UNLOCKED: FLASH] DESCRIPTION: Movement speed increased exponentially for 10 seconds.
A pulse of light exploded from him.
Riven vanished — reappearing behind Phantom in an instant, blade drawn.
Slash.
Another blink.
Slash.
Riven blurred across the battlefield, moving faster than the eye could follow. Phantom struggled to counter, his scythes barely keeping up.
"What—?" Phantom muttered.
[FLASH ACTIVE: 07 SECONDS REMAINING]
Riven's final strike came from above, crashing Phantom into the steel floor.
But Phantom wasn't done — he rose, bleeding and growling, ready to unleash a final attack.
And that's when Cipher appeared.
From the shadows, a flaming streak of corrupted binary fire smashed into Phantom, forcing him back.
"Cipher" Riven said, panting.
Cipher grinned. "You're welcome."
Riven didn't hesitate. With the last of his Flash boost, he drove his sword into Phantom's chest.
The Execution Code flared.
[EXECUTION COMPLETE – ROGUE TERMINATED]
Phantom's body fell to the floor.
Riven collapsed to his knees, breath ragged.
Lucy, bruised and bleeding, crawled to him with her good arm and wrapped herself around him, trembling.
"You idiot..." she whispered.
He looked at her. "You're hurt—"
"I thought I was going to lose you."
Before he could reply, Lucy pressed her lips against his, soft but fierce, a surge of everything unsaid poured into the kiss.
When they pulled apart, she leaned on his chest, silent.
The system pinged:
[LEVEL UP: RIVEN KANE – C-RANK > B-RANK] NEW TITLE UNLOCKED: GHOST STRIKE NEW ABILITY: FLASH
The rain began to fall outside the ruins of the building, mixing blood and dust into the soil.
They had survived — barely.
But the war was far from over.
And now, Riven had taken his first real step into the true power of the Execution Code.
Whatever was coming next — he'd be ready.